Core B will consist of two components: the Tissue Procurement Facility and Dendritic Cell (DC) Laboratory. They will provide support to all four projects in this program. The former will procure, process, and distribute or store specimens from patients with oral carcinoma or control individuals, e.g., non-cancer patients undergoing uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or tonsillectomy. Specimens, including tumor biopsies, normal mucosal tissues, tissues adjacent to tumors, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) will be collected from patients or controls processed by trained personnel in accordance with the established SOP and under rigorous quality control measures. Specimens will be triaged according to the protocol established with the participating investigators and will be accompanied by histopathologic diagnoses and clinical/demographic data. Core B will handle fresh or cryopreserved specimens, microdissect tissues and prepare RNA or DNA as needed. The DC laboratory will generate human DC from PBMC precursors and culture them in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF in preparation for in vitro sensitization experiments. The laboratory, which operates according to FDA-approved GLP guidelines, will also grow DC for administration to patients on vaccination protocols. DC will be tested for phenotype and antigen-presenting functions prior to their use in priming assays with autologous T cells. Core B will be responsible for the quality and safely of cellular products administered to patients with OSCC. Cytokine assays and p53 antibody determinations will also be performed by the Core. Monitoring of patients receiving the antitumor vaccine for the frequency of T cells responding to individual peptides and to OSCC targets will be performed using ELISPOT and tetramer-based assays. Services of Core B are perceived as essential for the development of a strong vaccination grogram.